Hello dear readers, I am so delighted to welcome author Mary Simonsen back to Austenesque Reviews today! She has been one of my favorite Austenesque authors for years, a lovely friend to all bloggers, and the biggest supporter of Austenesque Reviews. In fact, if it weren’t Mary’s encouragement and advice, I might not have ever started blogging! I’m so happy Mary visits today and shares a tasty little morsel from her new time travel novel, Another Place in Time!

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In Another Place in Time, Mr. Darcy travels from 1812 London to 2012 Baltimore seeking advice from Regency expert, Chris O’Malley, after his failed proposal to Elizabeth Bennet at Hunsford Parsonage. Although Darcy is a man on a mission, a guy’s gotta eat! Chris suggests they visit Harborplace:

“Excellent idea!” Darcy said of one of downtown’s premier attractions, a complex of shops and restaurants abutting Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. “I was there yesterday. I had an egg and cheese burrito for breakfast and a hot dog with chili sauce for nuncheon. At supper, I dined on a cheeseburger with a secret sauce, or so the young lady informed me, and drank a Coca-Cola. When I arrived at the fudge shop, because they were about to close shop, they gave me a free pound of fudge for every pound I purchased. I was told it freezes nicely, so I bought four pounds and stored it in Mr. Caswell’s ice cupboard.”

“Four pounds of fudge!” Chris exclaimed as they waited for the signal to show the “walk” sign.

“Oh, I shant eat it all at once. Mr. Caswell has an illuminated box with players in it at his condominium. I shall eat it whist watching the box.”

“An illuminated box? Are you talking about a television?”

“Yes, television. I could not think of the word, but that it what it is called. It is also known as a TV.”

“You don’t say?”

“Oh, but I do.”

During his visit to Baltimore, Darcy also developed a taste for crab cakes, Maryland style, with Old Bay seasoning, but there was one food that was to surpass all others!

When the pizza was served, William asked for a knife and fork. Chris explained that no one ate pizza with utensils—at least not in Baltimore—and lived to tell about it. She explained that pizza was designed to be eaten on the go.

“I understand,” he said, looking around at a pizzeria filled with people chowing down on pizza, “but I am a gentleman. Other than fruit and nuts, I do not eat with my hands. This is obviously a food made for the working man.”

“That’s the point! You order the lunch special. You get two pieces of cheese pizza on a paper plate along with a medium-size soft drink and a napkin. That’s it. No fork. No knife. You eat. You go.”

Darcy stared at the two slices. “How does one go about this?”

“See the pointy end,” Chris said, rolling her eyes. “You put that in your mouth and chew.” Darcy continued to stare. “Allow me to demonstrate.”

While Chris ate, Darcy looked at her as if he were watching a complicated medical experiment.

“Voila! All you have to do is support the slice with your fingers. As you get closer to the crust, you can pinch it so that it’s easier to put in your mouth.”

“All right. I have dealt with less daunting tasks,” Darcy said, but looked like a kid who was about to dive into the deep end of the pool.

After putting the pointy end in his mouth, Darcy’s smiled. After closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to savor the taste and aroma of the pizza.

“Excellent! This is one of the best… No, I think this might be the very best dish I have ever eaten for nuncheon.”

Darcy continued to wax eloquent on the brilliant combination of wheat crust, tomato sauce, and cheese when Chris informed him that the only thing better than pizza was pizza right out of the oven.

“Mangia!” he said, clicking her paper cup with his own. “May we have a pizza to go?”

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To help celebrate the release of Another Place in Time, I am giving away an e-book copy of the novel, open internationally. I loved writing this book because I got to travel to London during the Regency Era. If you journeyed back in time, what food would you miss the most? For me, it would be bean enchiladas or soft veggie tacos. I’d also have to figure out a way to have iced tea. For my husband, my Mr. Darcy, it would definitely be pizza. He could eat it every day of the week. Please comment by March 26th.

Thanks, Meredith, for allowing me to share my story with other Austen fans.

I love it! Can you imagine Mr. Darcy attempting to eat pizza with his hands! LOL! Great question, Mary (and I love your answers!). As a vegetarian, I think I’d miss salads the most. The inclination to eat a lot of raw vegetables would surely earn me Mr. Hurst’s disapprobation!

Well, since I grew up in Baltimore and continue to be a Maryland resident, I would miss the fabulous crab cakes with Old Bay Seasoning. It is a speciality in my home. I love the thought of Darcy in Baltimore and can only begin to imagine this time travel novel. Thank you for the giveaway!

As a vegetarian I doubt that there would be anything that I would miss, but as this is the time before mass agricultural use of chemicals I might start eating other foods that today are nothing but chemicals like ice cream, lemonade

This is obviously a food made for the working man.” Hilarious I am still chuckling now!!! What a tough question I think it would be crisps what you call chips. When I travelled to America I kept asking for chips forgetting I would get crisps not fries!! This book sounds great and judging by your previous books I know I am not wrong. Thank you Mary and Meredith!!

Darcy better be careful or he’ll have gained a whole lot of weight before he goes back! Four pounds of fudge!!!! Yes, I would miss pizza and a cold beer! Delightful excerpt and it’s on my wishlist too! Thank you!

Thanks, Carole. When you think of how many rich people had gout, you know that they had a sweet tooth. For me, fudge is a vacation luxury. Whenever you go to a tourist spot, there’s always a fudge shop.

For me it would have to be sushi. I would eat it every day given the budget. LOL I have to agree with Darcy though, that first bite of a hot pizza always makes me close my eyes and smile. I love Mary’s books. I’m not a fan of modern adaptations…unless they are Mary’s for the most part. This one is on my Nook, I just haven’t had time to read it yet. The University of Oklahoma demands their assignments first. 😉 Love the excerpts thanks for sharing them. (Please do NOT put me in the giveaway, as I already have it!)

After I saw this post this morning, I pulled up my Nook to make sure I had purchased it and I have 9 of your books on my Nook (and 3 in print). Always love having a new Mary Simonsen book to add to the collection. I’m not having a summer break this year, taking 10 hours of Spanish (mandatory) instead LOL However, I will have to take time to breathe, so it will get read in there somewhere. =D

Stephanie, Thank you for your support. I couldn’t ask for more. Ten hours of Spanish! That’s a lot, but knowing Spanish is invaluable in today’s economy. I wish I had continued with Spanish in college.

You’ve got me picturing a very proper Regency gentleman, complete with a breeches and cravat, shoveling a greasy slice of pizza into his mouth. It’s a strange image, but I’m eager to read more about Darcy adjusting to the 21st century. Can you picture Darcy with his hessian boots up on the coffee table, a pound of fudge on his lap, watching some college basketball on the illuminated box?

What food would I miss if I went back in time? Great question. Sushi. And chocolate chip cookies.

Hi Mary. This book sounds delightful! It was fun to imagine Mr. Darcy eating pizza with his fingers! I think I would miss Tex-Mex with salsa and chips the most. It is a difficult choice but that is one of my favorites!

I enjoy your books and look forward to reading this one. Thanks and I hope you will keep writing many more!

I would miss Hershey’s chocolate! Although there was chocolate during the Regency, I doubt it would be like Hershey’s.
I love the idea of Mr Darcy eating pizza. A gentleman eating with his fingers! Oh my!
I’ve enjoyed your other books, and look forward to reading this one!

These excerpts made me hungry. I’m an equal opportunity foodie so I’d miss too many foods to risk long term time travel. The loss of raw veggies and fruits along with easy access to chocolate would do me in.

Oh, my….. knowing the lack of sanitary conditions, refrigeration, and pasteurization, I would be afraid to consume their dairy products, so I would miss cheese., and meat, and don’t let me forget the chocolate!

The biggest problem in the story is that Chris will have to let go of Darcy so he can return to 1812. Hmm, should she give him a list of investments to make in his time… warn him about Napoleon’s escape from exile…

Thanks, June. We had similar thoughts. I decided that any clues Darcy would have about the future, he’d have to find on his own so as not to “change history.” He did get on a computer. Thanks for stopping by. Always good to read your comments.

Mary, your book in already on my wish list, so I’d be delighted if I was to win this giveaway!

Living in the UK, one popular style of food is from the Indian sub-continent. Now I know that the British were already in India by the time of the Regency, but I don’t suppose there was an Indian restaurant in every town or takeaway food shops in numerous locations. I would dearly miss my curries!

We’re also lucky enough in the town where we live to have an excellent Mexican restaurant and another, almost as good, Tex-Mex. I’d miss them as well. I can knock up a pretty good pizza myself, so give me some flour, yeast, onions, tomatoes and cheese and Mr. darcy can come round to dinner any time. Please?

Thanks, Anji. I’ve only had curry once, and I got a serious case of heartburn! In AZ, we have a few Indian restaurants, but not too many, but then we don’t have a large Indian/Pakistani population. When I was in London, I saw curry restaurants everywhere!

Wonder what Darcy would think of a curry? Scooping up tasty spicy chunks of meat and veg using his hands (again) and either a piece of chapatti or naan bread, which is the best way to eat a curry, btw. He’s more than welcome to come round and put his Hessians up on my coffee table any time and try one!

Oh wow I am not sure I could narrow it down to just ONE food LOL 🙂 But definitely Mexican and Italian foods, probably chocolate if I had to choose. Loved the excerpt, that was just SO funny! I can’t imagine Darcy eating pizza, and if I had to think of it the way you described it would be pretty much it! Great job, and thank you 🙂 Very enjoyable read for this morning!

This is a great excerpt, Mary. I love the description of food and Mr Darcy eating pizza is the cherry on top of the cake. I don’t know whether people in the past eat ostrich meat but that is what I will miss most, come to think of it.

HI, Sylvia. Ostrich meat! I’ve never had as that is considered an exotic, difficult to find, meat. I did see it on a menu in Texas, but that was it. In your corner of the world, do they raise ostriches like we do cattle or pigs?

This is hilarious. Many times you dont see a funny Darcy, but with time travel it seems that he is unintentionally funny to us modern day readers. I especially love him having a lesson on how to eat pizza.